2008 BTAC ER 17yr

Have y'all had this yet. This is crazy good. Like S-W meets heavy cream vanilla ice cream while enjoying a cup of English Afternoon tea... and not like the Vintage 17yr tea, the nice light earth, cream and rye type...

Re: 2008 BTAC ER 17yr

Did a side-by-side tasting of this with the regular 10 year expression...here were my notes...

ER10...
Nose: Strong oak, a hint of vanilla and maple sugar, strong alcohol vapors
First Sip: Spicy rye, oak and leather...not harsh but very in-your-face.
Next: Sweetness opens up and I'm getting that maple sugar I smelled, a softer feel in the mouth although the alcohol is definitely present in the flavor.
Finish: Fairly longish with a great lingering oak and hints of ripe fruit.

BTAC ER17...
Nose: Very woody/tannic, but hardly any alcohol burn in the nose
First Sip: Soft, silky texture is the first thing I notice followed by a touch of creamy caramel...it tastes vaguely woody, but most of this is still in the nose.
Next: Vanilla. The entire flavor profile in this seems very subtle.
Finish: Soft lingering wood that goes on forever...I imagine the barrel resting in a pastoral meadow with soft moss growing all over it....delicious.

After that, I decided to vat the two together 1:1 to see what I came up with...I was very pleased with the results:

ER10 & 17 Vat....
Nose: Maple sugar...woody but so sweet
First Sip: The flavor almost knocked me over it was so big...much more so than either alone...rye, very strong tea with cream, and sweet maple
Finish: The tea flavor continues and is joined by that wonderful soft oak.

This combo is a real winner (if not especially inventive). I'm usually a purist and don't get into vatting, but I'll definitely be doing this again. When I finished this pour I started all over again with the 10 to the 17 and then mixed the two again...everything was a lot sweeter the second time around, but this was just a great night of bourbon tasting!

"A person can work up a mean, mean thirst after a hard day of nothing much at all . . . "

Re: 2008 BTAC ER 17yr

I gotta say I loved the ER17 - it is better than the 10 SB. However, given it costs more than double the regular offering, I think I will stick with the 10 yo expression. It ends up it my top 5 list, but is pretty low on my value list.

-bk

Hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretensions of the present by calling into existence the possibility of something better.

Re: 2008 BTAC ER 17yr

Originally Posted by kickert

I gotta say I loved the ER17 - it is better than the 10 SB. However, given it costs more than double the regular offering, I think I will stick with the 10 yo expression. It ends up it my top 5 list, but is pretty low on my value list.

-bk

A little less than double for me...$48 vs. $27, but I hear what you're saying...luckily I bunkered one for a special occasion, because I don't think I could buy this with any regularity (even on an annual basis)....neither would be high on my value list (I assume, math hurts my pea-sized brain ).

"A person can work up a mean, mean thirst after a hard day of nothing much at all . . . "

Re: 2008 BTAC ER 17yr

Originally Posted by kickert

I can't believe you can get BTAC for under $50.

Yup, the NH Liquor Store & its low, low price is the about the only advantage I have up here. Big sacrifice as far as selection goes, though, so keep that in mind (although the holidays seem to have brought out some rare finds) -- can't get much without heavy traveling either (& even the NH Liquor Store is a two-hour roundtrip plus $8 in tolls). Count your own blessings, my friend.

"A person can work up a mean, mean thirst after a hard day of nothing much at all . . . "